


Your Heart's Desire

by GameCake



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abusive Kate Argent, Alive Hale Family, Alive Laura Hale, Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, Angst, Bad Touch, Dead Kate Argent, Fluff, Getting Together, Kate Argent Warning, M/M, Multilingual Derek, Not all of them, Sheriff's name is John, assassin's creed mentions, but only mentioned, fair warning tho, genie Derek Hale, idc what tw says
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 21:50:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9461738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GameCake/pseuds/GameCake
Summary: “I wish we had curly fries for once!” Stiles muttered grumpily. When he turned around, he squealed in surprise. Next to the kitchen table stood a man who was shirtless with his muscular arms crossed over his equally muscular chest. The only article of clothing on his upper body were the weird bracelets that looked like silver thick cuffs. But that wasn’t all. The man was hovering and he did not have legs; his waist dissolved to smoke. “What,” Stiles said when his brain rebooted.“If that’s what you wish for.” The man said and with a click of his fingers, a plate full of curly fries appeared on the table.“What.” Stiles repeated.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd sorry. 
> 
> Kate Argent warning, it is very brief but Derek tells Stiles about how she abused him. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I have not watched Assassin's Creed, I was supposed to watch it the day after I started writing about that part, so I asked people who watched it about how they felt so that I could write Stiles's review. 
> 
> Hope you like it :)
> 
> Art for this fic can be found [here](http://game-cake.tumblr.com/post/156368531328/geniederek-for-my-fic-your-hearts-desire-im) and [here](http://game-cake.tumblr.com/post/156368604528/art-for-my-fic-your-hearts-desire-im-sorry). :)

 

The scent of smoke was intoxicating and Derek couldn’t stop the tears running down his cheeks.

 

He was running home after almost missing his curfew when the offending scent assaulted his nose. He sprinted faster in order to help in some way and then he heard the screams and howls. His pack, his _family_ , was being hurt. A sob was forced out of his throat as he thought about the implications of the previous statement.

 

And then… then he saw it. He saw his house being engulfed in flames. The once bright white walls were already dark and ugly and the flames were visible from every window.

 

His sprint was cut short when an invisible force knocked him down before he could actually reach for his house to try and save his family. He was thrown a few meters back and his head hit the ground hard. It didn’t matter, though, he had to get up. He kneeled up and tried to make sense of his surroundings when he spotted the line of black ash. Mountain ash.

 

Suddenly his senses caught up with the poisonous scent of wolfsbane, as well as the scent of _magic_ and _strangers_.

 

Hunters.

 

Just as the thought stroke him a pair appeared in his line of vision. Derek saw red. He shot up and violently crashed into the barrier again, not caring that his advances were fruitless. He could feel them, he could feel his pack members die through their bond.

 

The pair of hunters got closer to him and he could finally see them properly.

 

One was a young man, in his late thirties or early fourties. He had dirty blond hair and pale skin. His eyes were cold blue and heartless, as was the pleased smirk that graced his face.

 

Next to him was a red-haired woman. She had multiple accessories on and she had her hair neatly made as if she was going to a ball rather than going to slaughter a family.

 

“Slow down, beast.” The man said. “You can’t get in and they can’t get out, anyway.” He added smugly.

 

Derek roared in response and knocked his body against the barrier again.

 

“You could save them,” The woman declared and that was enough for Derek to pause. “I could give you the power to save them yourself. Would you want that?”

 

Derek nodded eagerly at her question, he was even ready to beg if she asked him to.

 

“If you want to save them, you need to do something for me. I want you to promise to become mine. To fulfil my every wish. In return, you get to save your family. Do we have an agreement?” The man said.

 

Derek swallowed thickly, not liking the implications of the deal he was going to agree to. But, then he thought about his mum. About his dad, his uncles, aunts, siblings. He thought of his youngest brother, who was barely a year old. “Yes.” He decided grimly.

 

“Very well.” The man said and the woman moved forward. She broke the barrier and immediately slashed Derek’s arm with a hidden knife. Derek hissed at bright pain, but that didn’t stop her. She started chanting in a foreign language –Latin, probably. 

 

Before he knew it, Derek felt a surge of electricity going through his body. His vision whitened and he fell on the ground. He felt simultaneously light as a feather and heavy as a stone. Sweat was forming on his forehead and he was breathing fast.

 

Rough hands pulled him up from his hair into a kneeling position. As his eyes focused, he found himself looking at the man. “Save your family.” He ordered simply and moved away.

 

Derek would have complied anyway, but as the man’s words left his mouth, he felt a surge of energy rush through him and he found himself standing up and walking towards the flames. He didn’t know what he was doing; his body was moving on its own, but his hands moved nonetheless and with their movements, the fire was extinguished.

 

He could barely feel his family through the bond, their connection was failing rapidly, as if it didn’t exist, but with a click of his fingers, he was able to hear their heartbeats, loud and strong, again.

 

They were alive.

 

“Fix the house and make sure they don’t remember a thing. Make sure they think you are dead.” The man commanded and the weird energy –the _magic-_ flew in Derek’s body again and then towards the house.

 

They were alive. It didn’t matter what the man’s implications meant, it didn’t matter that he couldn’t feel the pack bond anymore. His family was alive and that was all it mattered.

 

 

* * *

 

 

70 years later.

 

Stiles knew he shouldn’t be snooping around Allison’s home like that, but he was bored and everyone downstairs was so sad. It made him feel depressed. With a good reason too.

 

So he excused himself to the bathroom. Even if he didn’t actually end up going there.

 

It was really sad what happened to Allison’s aunt. Stiles, like a good friend, wanted to be there for her in her grief. That didn’t mean he had to enjoy it. Not that anyone was enjoying the day, they were at a funeral for God’s sake. Allison’s aunt funeral. Kate Argent.

 

Allison never really mentioned her, but it was obvious that she loved her. Kate was her dad’s older sister but Stiles had only seen her once. She was a middle-aged woman that despite her age still looked pretty and hot, maintaining a fit figure and having almost no wrinkles at all. Even though she gave off a creeper vibe, she was still considered extremely impressive.

 

Allison’s parents said she died due to a mountain lion attack when she was out hunting the previous day. And okay, Stiles knew Allison’s parents were weird and had a lot of weapons or whatever, but _hunting_? And especially, hunting at _night_? What was up with Kate?

 

Plus, she comes in Beacon Hills for a week and she gets killed? And, furthermore, by an animal attack? That is highly suspicious, Stiles is calling bullshit.

 

This was why Stiles was in the guest room, or better yet, Kate’s temporary room. He was ready to investigate.

 

First, he started by searching the wardrobe, but nothing seemed out of place. Plain empty boxes and hanging dresses were all he saw. He moved on to the dresser, where he accidentally found her underwear, he checked her nightstand, and lastly, under the bed, but nothing, _nothing_ , was out of the ordinary. Just clothes, shoes, accessories and weird women stuff.

 

He sat on the bed, defeated. Kate was pretty simple. She had normal clothes, jewellery, perfumes, a book or two, nothing that stroked as odd.

 

He lied back and eyed her bag that rested on the nightstand. Then he proceeded to try to talk himself out of searching it. He shouldn’t go through a dead woman’s bag! Then again, she was dead, she surely wouldn’t mind, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t already searched through the rest of her stuff. Still, it was disrespectful and wrong.

 

“Fuck it” he muttered and sat up, locking his eyes to the object in question.

 

He moved closer and opened it slowly. Inside, there were a plethora of things. Really, why do women have so many things?

 

He found pills, money, - _a smaller purse?-_ a condom, a bar of chocolate, keys and a textbook. More money, a passport, driver licence, ID, _a small gun_ , scissors and a small bag full of cosmetics. He opened another case and there was a pad, a weird thingy that Stiles assumed was a tampon, a small knife, a family photo and a wallet. Really, who has a wallet but still has money laying around their bag?

 

Something wasn’t right, though. The bottom of the bag was a little uneven, in a way it shouldn’t be. That made Stiles pause. It was bad enough going through her bag, but opening a seemingly hidden case? That was morally wrong, right?

 

But harm was done anyway, he decided. He started feeling the bottom of the bag in concentration, trying to find a way to open it, but he came up empty-handed. He was tempted to empty the bag to look at it properly when his hands brushed an anomaly. Right underneath a pocket to the side, the fabric seemed thicker.

 

Stiles almost fist pumped the air in success. He prodded it a little and he found the hidden zipper. When he opened it, he grabbed the first thing that was inside; a small wooden box that was as wide as his palm. He frowned at it and opened it up. He wasn’t expecting what he found inside.

 

The box was full of long golden bullets. Stiles took one out to inspect it further and he was baffled at the inscription. Having a sheriff as a father, he was well acquainted with guns and bullets, but he had never seen a design like this one.

 

He huffed and took a picture of everything to investigate further when he gets home.

 

Stiles put the box of bullets back where he found out and picked the last item out. When he took a look at it, he was confused. It was an old-fashioned oil lamp. It was gold and had blue gems around the crown. It looked expensive in a way that Stiles wanted to be extra careful around it. He tried to find its use, or at least to figure out why Kate had it with her, but there was nothing that could answer his multiple questions.

 

But before he could think about it any further he heard the stairs creaking under heavy footsteps.

 

That was his cue to leave, he supposed and pushed everything back into the bag quickly.

 

 

When Stiles got back home, his dad was still at work, having a double shift, and he had chores to catch up to. His day was long and his head was throbbing and all he wanted was food and sleep.

 

Honestly, if Allison wasn’t one of his closest friends, he wouldn’t even have gone, but as it was, he had to be there for emotional support. Which was why he was emotionally drained.

 

He first went to the bathroom and took a long, much-deserved, hot shower. When he was done, he put on his pyjamas and went food hunting to the kitchen.

 

Nothing looked really tasty at that moment and he groaned loudly. “I wish we had curly fries for once.” He muttered grumpily and shut the fridge door shut with a little too much force, making the hinges creak.

 

When he turned around, though, he squealed in surprise. Next to the kitchen table stood a man. He was tall and beautiful. He had vibrant green eyes and black hair that almost covered his whole body. His cheeks were sharp and his strong jaw covered in trimmed stubble.

 

The man was shirtless and his muscular arms were crossed over his equally muscular chest. The only article of clothing on his upper body were the weird bracelets that looked like silver thick cuffs.

 

But that wasn’t all. The man was hovering and he _did not have legs;_ his waist dissolved to smoke.

 

Stiles spent a whole minute gaping at the stranger, as the man spent an equal amount of time glaring at him.

 

“What,” Stiles said when his brain rebooted.

 

“If that’s what you wish for.” The man said and with a click of his fingers, a plate full of curly fries appeared on the table.

 

“What.” Stiles repeated.

 

“Your wish is my command.” The man spat out the words like he was disgusted to having to utter them at all.

 

“Who the hell are you?” Stiles managed through the shock.

 

The man _growled_ and glared some more. “I am your genie. Congrats.”

 

Stiles paused to look around him, to make sure he wasn’t being pranked. “My what? How did you get in here? What’s your name?”

 

“You brought me here, you idiot. I’m Derek.” The man – _Derek_ \- barked.

 

Stiles straightened at that. “Okay, first of all, I don’t appreciate being insulted in my own house.” He snapped. Seriously, this… genie or whatever was testing his patience and encouraging his headache. “Now I am asking you again, why are you here?”

 

Derek didn’t seem pleased with him, but when he replied, his voice was even and calm, even if he never stopped glaring. “You made a wish. As your genie, I am obligated to grant your every wish.”

 

Stiles rubbed his face tiredly. “And how exactly, did you become my genie?”

 

“You were the first one to touch my lamp since my late master’s death.” Derek gritted out.

 

Then it clicked. “Wait, Kate Argent was your previous… _master_?”

 

“Yes.” Derek said.

 

Stiles whistled. “Now you are mine?” he asked excitedly, headache and irritation momently forgotten. “That means I have three wishes?”

 

Derek growled. “Not three.”

 

“What? You can’t charge me for the curly fries, I didn’t intend to wish that!” Stiles protested.

 

“No, I mean there is no limit on your wishes.” Derek stressed.

 

“Oh,” Stiles said and considered it. “So if I said ‘I wish I had a burger’, would I get a burger?”

 

Derek didn’t reply, he simply clicked his fingers again, and a plate with a burger appeared on the table next to the curly fries.

 

“Sweet!” Stiles exclaimed. “Can I have Reese’s too?” he asked and looked back at Derek’s face.

 

Derek looked… defeated. He wasn’t looking at Stiles as he clicked his fingers. His eyes were downcast and his frame looked smaller somehow. Stiles didn’t know why, but somehow, he liked it better when Derek looked murderous.

 

Which… was a pretty odd thought. Stiles brushed it off though and went to sit on the table to enjoy his meal.

 

He was halfway shoving the curly fries in his mouth when he realised that Derek was still looming. Stiles couldn’t say he enjoyed it, Derek’s presence over him made him uneasy. 

 

“Uh… want some?” Stiles asked awkwardly as soon as he swallowed -well _mostly_ swallowed.

 

Derek threw him a disgusted look when his eyes reached Stiles’s face. “I can eat in my lamp.” Was all he said.

 

His statement didn’t really convince Stiles, but he figured that it wasn’t his problem if the genie didn’t accept his offer. He shrugged and went back to eating.

 

When he was done he put the plates in the sink and opened the Reese’s. He was paying attention to Derek the whole time, sneakily side-eyeing him, and the man seemed… uncomfortable. His shoulders were still a little drawn and he wasn’t looking at Stiles at all, not even to glare at him. He was twitchy and he seemed to be clenching his jaw extra hard.

 

Before Stiles could finish his treat, the man spoke up. “Am I dismissed?” he inquired, and suddenly his posture held a strange sense of formality.

 

Stiles let his eyes fall on the genie and he regarded him carefully. Is that what had been bothering him? Should Stiles dismiss him every time he doesn’t need him? “Sure.” He decided.

 

Derek’s shoulders lost a bit of tension then, but before Stiles could make sense of it, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

 

 

Stiles was never happier for a winter break. Christmas had always been his favourite time of the year, but senior year had been very tiring thus far. He lost the last day of school for the year due to the funeral, which he wasn’t sure how he felt about.

 

He was still lying on his bed, enjoying the warmth of his comforter and the extra time of sleep, when he got the nagging feeling that he was being watched. He paused scratching his belly and he opened his eyes cautiously. He scanned his room carefully, starting from his left side. He nearly jumped when his eyes caught the man next to the door. He was sitting on the armchair holding one of Stiles books, but he wasn’t reading it, instead he had his eyes locked on Stiles’s form.

 

 _Right_ , how could he forget about him? He was still shirtless, but this time, he had legs instead of smoke and he was wearing a pair of faded brown trousers that looked too worn out and slightly small on him.

 

“How long have you been glaring at me?” Stiles asked and sat up a little.

 

Derek’s unreadable face didn’t alter at all. “I am not glaring.”

 

“Sure you are not,” Stiles joked and stretched. “How long have you been up?”

 

Derek shrugged and opened the book again. “I don’t know.”

 

Stiles eyed him suspiciously. “Did you sleep at all?”

 

Derek shrugged again without looking up. “Probably.”

 

Stiles frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”

 

Derek let an exaggerated sigh, as if Stiles was annoying him too much to ignore. “Time is different in the lamp. It is difficult to remember what happens there when I am outside.”

 

Stiles bit his lip as he considered it. “Can’t you tell, though?”

 

Derek looked up then. “I know I am not tired and nor am I hungry.” He stated carefully.

 

Stiles nodded and he got up. With one last look at Derek, he exited the room and headed for the bathroom.

 

 

Stiles was fixing himself breakfast when Derek appeared in the doorway. “Want some?” he asked as he put a toast together.

 

“Aren’t you going to wish for something?” Derek asked, completely ignoring Stiles’s earlier question.

 

Stiles stopped the task at hand and turned to look at him. “Like what?”

 

Derek shrugged and the defensive posture come back. “Pancakes, clean sink, I don’t know, you are the master.”

 

Stiles frowned. “So you want me to wish for things?”

 

Derek growled and looked irritated again. “No, I don’t have to _want you_ to ask for things, you just do.”

 

Stiles regarded him silently. “Okay,” he decided. “I wish the plates were clean.”

 

Derek’s face did something weird and with a click of his fingers, the plates were gone, probably in a cupboard. “Do you wish for something else?” he asked blankly.

 

“No,” Stiles elected.

 

Derek nodded once and then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

 

Stiles sighed and went back to making his toast.

 

 

It was evening and Stiles was bored. It was his break for God’s sake! He should be out having fun with his friends, but Scott ditched him because Allison was sad and he wanted to be with her. Lydia was at another date with the asshole –a.k.a. Jackson- and no one else willingly hung out with Stiles.

 

So he was stuck in the house. His dad had arrived from work earlier in the afternoon, so he was a victim to Stiles’s babbling and complaining.

 

“I don’t understand why you don’t ask that teammate –Danny, right?- why don’t you ask him to hang out with you?” His dad asked gently.

 

“Because Danny is not my friend, dad! He is Jackson’s friend, and Jackson is Lydia’s boyfriend, the only reason he is around me is because I am around Lydia.” Stiles whined.

 

“Well…” his dad started, obviously considering it. “Why don’t you call… your other friends?”

 

“That’s the point dad! There are no other friends. God, I wish I had more friends.” Stiles exclaimed in irritation.

 

His dad reached over and patted his shoulder gently. “I’m sorry you feel like that, son, but don’t worry, in a few months you will be off in college, you will find lots of new people there.” He said with his wise voice.

 

“I don’t want friends in two months, dad. I want friends now.” Stiles said and melted back on the couch.

 

“That implies that you don’t already have friends.” His dad pointed out.

 

“Well, I might as well not. Scott is always ditching me, and his reasons are not as respectable as the one he used today, and Lydia hangs out with me only when she is mad at Jackson.”

 

His dad sighed and squeezed his shoulder. “I know it’s hard now, but you will see that things get better. You are a smart kid, people are going to notice that, you will find what you want soon.” He said and got up. “I’m sorry, but I am really tired, I am going to sleep.”

 

“Okay, dad. Good night.” Stiles wished and let his dad go.

 

Stiles stayed there looking blankly at the TV after his dad left. His non-productive activity –or maybe lack thereof- was disturbed by Derek popping right in front of the television.

 

Stiles startled so hard, he hit his eye with his thumb. “Oh my _god_. Stop doing that!” he hissed, trying to remain as silent as he could be to not wake his dad up.

 

Derek didn’t seem to bother with him, he simply hovered in front of the screen with a judging look. “You weren’t paying attention.” He stated and Stiles could see a slight smirk on the man’s face.

 

“So you decided to scare me to death,” Stiles said and rubbed his aching eye. “Do you take pleasure in seeing me getting hurt?”

 

“It is highly possible.” Derek stated and smirked openly at Stiles’s hurt expression.

 

“Fine, be mean to me. What do you even want?” Stiles asked and relaxed back on the couch.

 

“You wished for friends. I can’t grant wishes like that. I can’t manipulate free will.” Derek stated firmly.

 

“Okay,” Stiles agreed and tilted his head to the side to catch up on what was playing on TV. Derek didn’t seem to take a hint, though, he stood his ground right in front of the TV and kept looking at Stiles expectantly. “What is it now?”

 

Derek hesitated then. “It is my duty to grant your wishes. When you wish something like that, I am obligated to do at least something close to what you wished for.” He said awkwardly.

 

Stiles gave up on trying to watch TV then and focused his attention on Derek. “Are you seriously hanging out with me because I complained about not having friends?” he didn’t know if he should feel excited at the idea or pathetic.

 

Derek clenched his jaw and nodded.

 

“Wow, that is both the best and saddest thing ever,” Stiles admitted. He considered it for a second and then an idea stroke him. “So, if I wished I had a boyfriend, you would basically offer?”

 

Derek’s face soured instantly. His whole body tensed up and his eyes widened in an emotion Stiles couldn’t quite intercept. “Yes.” He said lowly and averted his eyes to the floor.

 

Stiles was too shocked at Derek’s reaction, at first. Derek had completely shut down, and Stiles wondered why, what had happened to him to make him react like that to a joke? When he caught up he laughed awkwardly. “It was a joke. Relax.” Derek didn’t relax, though, he kept his posture intact. Stiles bit his lip nervously. “Hey, Derek?” he tried and this time Derek did look up. “Come sit here,” he said and patted the cushion next to him. “Let’s watch a movie.”

 

Derek didn’t say a word as he did what Stiles said. Stiles sighed and zipped through the channels for something acceptable.  He settled on the Sherlock TV show and got himself comfortable.

 

As minutes passed, he could see Derek’s body losing its tension. But Derek wasn’t relaxing exactly. He suddenly looked curious and tense with anticipation.

 

“Are you okay?” Stiles asked after Derek got so into the show that he had leant forward.

 

Derek snapped out of his trance and looked at Stiles with a bewildered look. “I’m sorry. It’s just… in my time, Sherlock Holmes was different.”

 

Stiles scoffed. “ _’In my time’_ … what are you? Sixty?” he said thoughtlessly with a laugh.

 

Derek remained stoic, though. If anything, he looked sad. “Probably.” He stated.

 

“What?” Stiles asked perplexed.

 

“I told you, time is different in my lamp and… my previous masters didn’t care enough to tell me the date.” Derek admitted.

 

Stiles’s eyes widened. “Wait a second, you don’t know the date?”

 

Derek shook his head. “Last I remember it was August the 8th 1946.”

 

Stiles chocked down on his spit on that information. “What?” he demanded a little too loudly.

 

Derek didn’t seem to mind, though. “Like I said, time is different in the lamp.”

 

“Time is-“ Stiles started and then let an exaggerated sigh. “Derek, last you remember was 70 years ago!”

 

Derek seemed slightly alarmed at the information, but then he schooled his expression. “Okay.” He decided.

 

Stiles stared at him a little before he sighed and went back to watching TV.

 

His attention to the TV show didn’t last. He soon got lost in thought about what Derek had said. Derek seemed to be aware of time in a way, considering the fact that he could believe that he was over 60, but also he was surprised to find that it was 70 years since he bothered to check the date.

 

And what did that mean exactly? Derek was aware of time before that 1945, but then his… _masters_ stopped paying enough attention? Or was it something else? Given the fact that it is the lamp that makes him lose time, maybe he simply didn’t have a lamp before? How did a genie work?

 

Derek let a loud sigh next to him and Stiles snapped back to reality. “What is it?” Derek asked with an irritated look.

 

“Uh, nothing!” Stiles said feigning innocence.

 

Derek obviously didn’t fall for it, though. “You have been staring at me for the past 30 minutes. It’s annoying.”

 

“Oh,” he said, having not realised earlier what he was doing. “I’m sorry, I was just thinking.”

 

Derek simply raised an eyebrow at his words. “You do that too?”

 

“Hey!” Stiles said and slapped his bicep. “Don’t be an asshole. It’s not funny.”

 

Derek smirked smugly. “In my opinion, it is.”

 

Stiles huffed and crossed his arms. “Fine, be a dick. Why do I even bother with you?”

 

Derek shrugged. “You don’t have to.”

 

Stiles narrowed his eyes. “Do you really think I could in any universe not bother when you are a genie? You are a _genie_ , Derek!”

 

Derek gave him a flat look. “I know what I am, I don’t need a reminder.”

 

“Yeah, but _magic is real!_ Who knows what other supernatural creatures exist?” Stiles exclaimed in excitement.

 

Derek didn’t seem to share the sentiment, though, in fact, he looked like he lost interest in the conversation and turned his attention back to the TV.

 

Then another question bloomed in Stiles’s mind. “Hey, how come you are comfortable with technology? Didn’t people in the 40s, or whenever you come from, have little technological knowledge?”

 

“Just because I was not aware of the date, doesn’t mean I was not aware of the time, Stiles. I know what a phone is, I know what the internet, a computer or anything is. I was alive when they got invented. Just because I wasn’t free during the time they got invented, doesn’t make me unaware of their existence.” Derek stated with a deadpan.

 

Stiles considered his words for a few seconds. “Yeah, but you seemed fascinated by Sherlock.”

 

Derek looked away then. “My previous masters didn’t care enough to let me watch television.”

 

“How many masters have you had?”

 

“Three… well, four now, I guess.” Derek stated with a shrug obviously trying to look unconcerned, but his body stance betrayed that he was uncomfortable.

 

Stiles considered Derek’s uneasiness and he decided to not press him into telling any more. Until another question popped up. “Were your parents genies too?” he asked merely fifteen minutes later when Derek had once again got lost in the plot.

 

Derek frowned and looked back at him. “What? No.” he denied in annoyance, as if he had just heard the stupidest question.

 

Stiles would have been offended if he didn’t get that look as often as he did. “Then how were you born a genie? That makes zero sense, your parents must have at least been wizards or something!” H protested while flailing his arms.

 

“Not wizards,” Derek started cryptically. “But they were werewolves.”

 

Stiles blinked a few times and had to repeat the sentence in his head a few times because he was pretty sure he was hearing things. “Come again?”

 

“Werewolves.” Derek stated blankly.

 

Stiles half expected him to burst out laughing with an _I’m kidding!,_ but Derek looked serious. “Werewolves? _Werewolves?_ Really? Okay, fine, say I believe you. How can a werewolf give birth to a genie then?”

 

“I was not born a genie, idiot, I don’t think anyone can be born like that.” Derek counted with an eye roll.

 

“So you were human and you became a genie… in _a family of werewolves_?”

 

Derek slapped a flailing arm away from his face in irritation. “No I was a werewolf that became a genie, why do you find it this difficult to understand the concept of werewolves, when you freaked out significantly less when I told you I was a genie?”

 

“I just need to process it a little more. _Werewolves._ ” Stiles muttered and looked away. He spent a little over 5 minutes considering the information before he got used to the idea and went on with the questions. “So, you were a werewolf before, are you still one?”

 

“No, not really.” Derek said sadly.

 

Stiles chuckled. “No, or not really?”

 

“Not really. I mean, my senses are seemingly the same but only because I use magic to mimic them, but I can’t shift anymore and I don’t feel the pack bonds.”

 

“Oh my God, pack bonds, if I weren’t so curious at the genie thing, I would have bombarded you with questions on werewolves!” Stiles said excitedly.

 

Derek snorted. “Like you aren’t doing that already.”

 

Stiles punched Derek’s shoulder lightly. “Hey, not cool! I am trying to understand here!” he said with a pout. “Back to the important stuff, why did you become a genie if you already were a werewolf?”

 

Derek’s face fell at that and he flinched. He immediately looked defeated. “I’d rather not talk about it.” He whispered hesitantly, as if he was afraid of Stiles’s reaction.

 

“Yeah, okay.” Stiles said lowly feeling put off with the sudden change in the mood. Derek didn’t even look up as he curled a little around himself and glared at the coffee table.

 

Despite being overly curious, Stiles was willing to respect Derek’s wish, so he didn’t try to start up with a conversation again after that. He would soon find out everything he wants to know anyway, there is no need to press him now.

 

**

 

A week later finds Stiles lying on his bed completely and utterly bored. The previous days had been hectic with the celebrations and family dinners, but now that they are past, he is bored and alone again. It’s merely two days after New Year’s and all of his friends are paired up again, leaving him to mope in his room.

 

His dad was at work and he was too bored to even play a computer game.

 

He groaned into his pillow until an idea came alive in his head.

 

How did he not think of it sooner? He has his own genie for god’s sake, and he forgot about it?

 

In his defence, he hadn’t really seen Derek since the day he wished he had more friends. With Christmas and celebrations and family visiting, he was too busy to worry about him. But now, he had solidity and space to do whatever he wanted without a random aunt pinching his cheek. He is not a baby damnit!

 

But back to the point. He had a _genie_! He could literally wish for everything.

 

Many options crossed his mind, bungee jumping, amusement parks, a trip abroad… but truth was, he actually really wanted to go to the cinema. He went less than a month ago with Scott and Allison on the premiere of the latest Star Wars movie, a fatal mistake, they ended up making out throughout the whole movie leaving him alone to enjoy the glory-ness and have no one to share his A+ commentary with.

 

So taking them with his to the movies again was definitely a no-go. He was sure he would have to go alone to the _Assassin’s Creed_ movie –which is why he was postponing it. He had his genie now, he could take Derek with him!

 

With that in mind, he flipped on his stomach and stared at the lamp resting on his nightstand. “Alright, how do I do this? How do I summon you?” he muttered and outstretched his hands to grab it and pull it closer.

 

Would it be like _Aladdin_? Does he have to rub it? Maybe he should just wish Derek to appear.

 

He decided to give the Aladdin technic a try. Or, he tried to. “Why are you groping my lamp?” echoed in the quiet room. Stiles jumped and the lamp fell out of his hands and on the floor. Derek didn’t seem impressed.

 

“I was trying to summon you?” Stiles said awkwardly and looked up at Derek who had his arm crossed on his chest and once again smoke instead of legs.

 

“I could feel the moment you shifted it, you didn’t have to stroke it, or do whatever that was what you are doing.” Derek deadpanned and Stiles flushed in embarrassment.

 

“How was I supposed to know, you didn’t leave a manual behind to let me know how this whole thing works!” he protested in response.

 

“You can just wish away something and I will appear anyway.” Derek affirmed.

 

“Okay,” Stiles said to show he understood. “Derek, I am bored.”

 

Derek scoffed. “That doesn’t sound like a wish.”

 

“I am getting there,” Stiles said with a motion of his hand. “I want to go to the cinema.” He posted and took in the look of confusion on Derek’s face. “I want to watch the new movie _Assassin’s Creed_ … with you.”

 

Derek’s posture shifted. His face flashed a surprised emotion and his hands fell to his sides. “With me?”

 

“Yeah, how about we go to the cinema and buy loads of food and get a couple of nice seats –not really to the front, but also not too far back- and enjoy a movie together?” Stiles explained sitting up.

 

Derek looked unsure. “Why?”

 

Stiles shrugged. “Because I want to watch the movie, and with whom cam I go other than you?”

 

Derek shifted slightly. “Is it an offer?”

 

Stiles frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

“Can I say no?” Derek explained slowly.

 

Stiles took in his uneasiness. “You could, but I would rather you didn’t. Of course, I would respect your choice, whichever it is.” He said carefully.

 

Derek considered the words for a few seconds before he nodded. “I would like that.” He said almost shyly.

 

Stiles would have stayed and considered Derek’s reaction more, but it was not the time. He would figure him out later, now it was time for a movie!

 

Stiles jumped up so fast he almost tripped on his sheets. “Great! Just let me get dressed real quick and we will be one our way!” he exclaimed excitedly and rushed to his dresser. When he turned back around, Derek was nowhere to be found.

 

Stiles frowned a little to the space he used to occupy, but then went back to dressing up.

 

**

 

Half an hour later Stiles was yelling from the front door for Derek to come already. Probably just to spite him, Derek appeared right behind him, which essentially send him to another flailing session.

 

“You got to stop scaring me all the time!” He yelled and clutched the front of his shirt in a shooting motion to calm his racing heart.

 

He turned to glare at him, but then he noticed his appearance. Derek actually wore a shirt. A marron fitting one. With thumbholes. He had a styled his hair a little too, it wasn’t so much on his face, but rather tucked a little to one side of his face. Stiles was too speechless to say anything else, so Derek snapped his fingers to get his attention again.

 

“What?” Stiles asked defensively.

 

“Stop staring at me.” Derek said in irritation and Stiles blushed.

 

He cleared his throat a little awkwardly and opened the door.

 

He climbed into the jeep and waited for Derek to do the same, but he saw him lingering behind staring at the car suspiciously. “Come on!” Stiles yelled.

 

Derek complied but even as he got in, he kept glaring at the interior like it was personally offending him. “Are you sure this thing is safe?”

 

 “Of course, Roscoe is 100% perfect.” Stiles assured.

 

“Are you sure? I haven’t seen cars like this one since I was free.” Derek said frowning.

 

“What are you talking about? My jeep is not that old you drama queen, it is probably less than… 30 years old.” Stiles trailed off and met Derek’s sarcastic face. “Oh shut up.” He said and turned the engine on.

 

“Didn’t say anything.” Derek said with a smirk.

 

**

 

“You know you could have just wished to have tickets and food for free, right?” Derek asked eyeing Stiles struggling with the popcorn and candy he purchased.

 

Stiles stilled and widened his eyes. “I didn’t think of that! Would it have killed you to remind me sooner?” he yelled.

 

Derek shrugged. “It would have spared the look on your face, so it was worth it.” He said with a smirk.

 

“You are such a dick!” Stiles said with a glare and marched on flippantly.

 

**

 

“Did you see that? Derek, did you _see that_? That was _extraordinary_!” Stiles exclaimed. “And the part where Callum became an assassin himself. _Derek, did you_ _see that_?”

 

“Of course I saw, I was with you the whole time.” Derek said calmly, but Stiles could see he was faking it, since his eyes were wide transfixed on the screen during the whole movie.

 

“Come on, you are not fooling anyone you big nerd, you would probably spend the whole day reading books and comics and watch TV if you could.” Stiles brushed him off. “I’m hungry.” He added before Derek could reply.

 

Derek side-looked him. “You ate almost all the popcorn and more than half of the candy.”

 

“Hey, I did not!” Stiles protested but then registered the unimpressed look Derek sent his way. “But even if I did, I am still hungry. Pizza?” Derek shrugged and Stiles took it as an affirmation. “Great! You are going to love this, it is an Italian restaurant that has surprisingly low prices but good food and nice decoration.” He babbled as they reached the car.

 

And truth was that it really was a very nice restaurant that had opened 3 years ago, that not only had great but also affordable food. Needless to say, it was Stiles’s favourite place.

 

He was ranting unstoppably about everything and anything until their food arrived. He made Derek order the _Pasta Napoli_ , even though they had already decided on a pizza.

 

As time passed, Derek participated to Stiles’s babbling more and more to the point that Stiles was regretful to ask for the check, because the company was too great.

 

When they got back home, Stiles led the way back to his room, ready to spend the rest of his night with his laptop. But before he could spot it, Derek tapped his shoulder. “Thank you for tonight.” He said while sincerely gazing into Stiles’s eyes.

 

“You don’t need to thank me, I had a great time.” Stiles replied slightly more cheerfully than necessary.

 

“No, I do. No master ever let me have this much fun in a night.” He said and looked back to his lamp. “Thank you.” He repeated and in a blink of an eye he was gone.

 

Stiles regarded the space Derek was occupying merely a few seconds earlier in confusion. It wasn’t like they did anything extraordinary, they only watched a movie and had dinner. Yet Derek was grateful.

 

Of course, being a genie for most of his life, or at least that is what Stiles assumed, he didn’t have many opportunities to have a good time. And tonight it was a good time. Great time. Amazing time.

 

If Stiles didn’t know better he would have confused it for a date.

 

Well, Stiles had never had a date, but his friends had, and he had watched enough movies and read enough books to know how dates were. And well, dates required at least one-sided romantic or sexual interest, which was what made it not a date.

 

Stiles frowned at his thoughts. What if Derek _thought_ it was, though?

 

He _was_ dressed up for it, not too much, but at least he had made his hair and put on nice clothes. Nice clothes that made him look both cute and fucking sexy.

 

Stiles frowned deeper and sat on his bed. Did he just describe Derek as cute and sexy?

 

It was not the first time Stiles regarded someone like that, but most of the time it was a passing thought, whereas now it felt like a fact. Stiles thought Derek was sexy and cute.

 

 _Holy shit it was kinda a date then!_ Stiles filled all the requirements, he had a –possibly- one-sided crush on Derek whom he asked out and they had dinner at the cosy but beautiful restaurant and he paid for everything. It was a date, his first date, and he hadn’t realised!

 

He groaned and headed for the bathroom. As he showered his thoughts went on.

 

It couldn’t be a real date if he didn’t know it was one. Derek definitely wouldn’t have agreed to go if he knew it was a date. Unless he felt compelled to go because Stiles was his master. But then again, he looked sincere when he said he would like to join Stiles.

 

Stiles was probably just overthinking it, but once he started he couldn’t stop.

 

Suffice to say, he spent most of his night, before he finally fell asleep, staring at his ceiling and kept overthinking.

 

**

 

When Stiles’s alarm went off at the first day of school for the year –quite literally- he felt offended and annoyed.

 

He had spent most of the holiday session laying around doing nothing, except for the required homework. He hadn’t really seen his friends since school ended, so his days were filled with his dad and Derek.

 

Derek was doing very well. He was adjusting to life with Stiles very easily, a feat that Stiles respected. Stiles had realised that Derek would rather be in the same room as him than stay in his lamp, so he would call for him as often as he could without really wishing for anything.

 

“What would happen if I wished to not go to school?” Stiles asked when he called Derek to have breakfast with him.

 

“You wouldn’t go to school.” Derek deadpanned.

 

“Yeah, but what about my grades and my teachers, wouldn’t they notice?” Stiles asked while poking at his waffle.

 

“They would.”

 

Stiles groaned. “Then where is the use in wishing to stay home if it is equivalent to skipping?”

 

Derek shrugged. “You could wish to skip but no one to notice.”

 

“What if I wished for the school to stay closed for another week?”

 

Derek took a big bite. “I wouldn’t recommend it, granting your wish could result in having the school burnt or an equally important reason for it to be closed.”

 

“You are a bad genie! You are supposed to make my wishes come true, but like, with no destructions and stuff like that.” Stiles whined.

 

Derek’s face got serious then. “If you really wished for it, then I would have to do it, whether that resulted in people getting hurt or not.”

 

Stiles sobered then too, at the haunted look that took over in Derek’s face. “Have a wish made you hurt people before?”

 

Derek looked down at his plate then. “Yes.”

 

Stiles considered his next question. “How were your previous masters?”

 

Derek swallowed visibly. “Bad.”

 

“Even Kate?” Stiles asked.

 

Derek let a dry chuckle. “Mostly Kate.”

 

“How? What did she do?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Derek said letting his shoulders curl.

 

Stiles reached for his hand but Derek flinched back before he could touch it. “Derek?”

 

“Drop it. Please.” Derek said lowly, his eyes still not meeting Stiles’s.

 

Stiles took his still hovering hand back and sighed. “Okay. I’m sorry I upset you.”

 

Derek didn’t say anything else and Stiles left for school.

 

**

 

Senior year was not supposed to be an easy one, Stiles knew that. Yet he still was displeased when he was unprepared for the Spanish test he had the next day. He was huffing and groaning, because he was arrogant enough to ignore the class until the test, which meant that his Spanish was rusty and bad.

 

He had found online practice tests for his level, but he was seemingly so bad he failed every single one of them. When he failed the 7th it was already 3am and he groaned loudly and knocked his head on his desk in frustration. “I just wish I was fluent in Spanish, is that too much to ask?” he shouted in the empty house.

 

Or so he thought. Derek was at his side in an instant and he clicked his fingers.

 

“ _What_?” Stiles asked in annoyance.

 

“Your wish is granted.” Derek said calmly.

 

Stiles blinked up at him tiredly. “Come again? What wish?”

 

“The one you just wished for, idiot.”

 

Stiles frowned. “Huh?” he shot a questioning look at him before it hit him. “Oh! Wait a second…”

 

“Congratulations, you speak Spanish fluently now.” Derek said with a funny accent. Stiles frowned again until he realised that it wasn’t his accent that was off, it was the _language_. Stiles understood every single word without even trying.

 

“Oh my God!” He exclaimed happily. “I can speak Spanish! Hey, wait, how can _you_ speak Spanish?” 

 

Derek shrugged. “My Grandma was Spanish, I learnt the language growing up.”

 

“Do you know any other languages?” Stiles asked curiously while swinging his legs.

 

“We did a little French and German at school. My family was wealthy, so my siblings and I always had the best teachers.” He said as his legs materialised and he sat on the bed. “I guess I know more, Kate made me translate a lot of books, I gave myself the ability to understand some then.”

 

Stiles whistled. “Can you speak the Asian ones? I mean Chinese, Japanese, Korean, stuff like that.”

 

“Korean no, yes to the rest, though.” Derek said with a shrug.

 

Stiles’s eyes lighted up. “What about Arabic?” Derek nodded. “Russian? All the other languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet?”

 

Derek frowned. “Yes to Russian, but I am not really that confident with the other languages, I can understand the basics, though, I think.”

 

“What about Greek? Or Latin?”

 

“Yes to both.” When Stiles opened his mouth again Derek cut him off. “Are you going to ask me if I speak every single language you have heard of?”

 

Stiles smirked. “I might.”

 

“Don’t.” Like I said, I know a lot, okay? I think it also has to do with me being a genie, it is logical to think I know stuff to communicate with my master.”

 

Stiles considered it. “What if your master was deaf? Does that mean you know all the sign languages too?”

 

Derek glared at him. “I don’t know, Stiles. How about you stop and go to sleep now?”

 

“But I am not sleepy! I drank a cup of coffee at 11. I want to do something.” Stiles protested.

 

“You could wish to be sleepy, it would improve your sleeping pattern too.”

 

Stiles spun his chair once. “Why do you keep asking me to wish for stuff? Isn’t I asking for stuff having an impact on you?”

 

“Not really. You want to wish for sleep of not?”

 

Stiles spun the chair once more. “You are no fun, you never answer my questions!”  

 

“That’s because your questions are stupid.” Derek snarked.

 

Stiles’s let an offended sound. “Hey, take that back!”

 

Derek groaned. “If I watch a movie with you, will you shut up?”

 

Stiles smirked widely. “Deal.”

 

**

 

It somehow got to be a thing, to watch movies when the Sheriff had a night shift –which was almost always.

 

They would put on something that fit Stiles’s mood and stay in bed until too late. At first, Derek returned to his lamp as soon as the movie ended, but after a while, Stiles found himself waking up cuddling him. They didn’t talk about it, and Derek didn’t ever seem to notice –or at least point out- the very healthy but also mortifying situation that happened in Stiles’s pants almost every damn time.

 

It was mid-February when Stiles woke up being too warm. Normally, it wasn’t a problem, since it was too cold outside, but that day, Stiles felt like he was burning up. He registered that he was the little spoon, something not completely unusual, but Derek had plastered his whole body around him, aggressively cuddling him. He had his face plastered on his nape, his hand around Stiles’s waist, and his palm resting just above his heart and their legs were tangled together. What made Stiles freeze and blush, though, was the hardness he felt against his ass.

 

He held back an embarrassed whimper and slipped out of the bed as quietly as he could.

 

He headed straight for the shower, where he could freak out without waking Derek up and he could overthink everything in peace.

 

**

 

It was late February when his dad started to suspect Derek’s existence. They were having a nice dinner in the kitchen, like every Monday, when his dad brought it up.

 

“So, son, is there anything you need to tell me?” he asked calmly.

 

Stiles frowned mid-bite and tried to think of anything wrong he could have done. “I am not sure I know what you are referring to?”

 

The Sheriff hummed. “What about your new friend?”

 

Stiles let the fork fall on his plate. “My new what now?”

 

“You know, the one that keeps coming over most nights, the one that isn’t Scott.”

 

Stiles gaped at him a little.

 

“Don’t be so surprised, I know Scott has a job at nights, I keep finding more plates in the sink than normal and, lately, you seem happier.” John said. “Look, kid, I know the past year has been hard for you, friends are not easy to find, and I am happy that you have a friend you can spend your time with. I just wish you would have shared a little something about them with me.”

 

Stiles remained silent, not knowing how to respond.

 

“Wipe that look off your face, I am not scolding you, I just want you to tell me about your friend. Who they are and stuff like that.” The Sheriff elaborated.

 

“Uh… his name is Derek?” Stiles replied awkwardly.

 

“Derek what? What is his surname?” John prompted again.

 

Stiles frowned. “I am not sure.”

 

His dad’s brows raised in surprise. “You are not sure? Stiles, how can you not know your friend’s last name?”

 

Stiles shifted uneasily. “It never really came up? Or maybe it did but I forgot?” 

 

John groaned. “Stiles!” he sighed. “At least tell me how old he is?”

 

Stiles was pretty sure he was internally screaming. “I guess a couple of years older than me.”

 

“You don’t even know how old he is? Damnit, Stiles, I assumed you met him at school.”

 

“Not exactly…” Stiles said while poking his food nervously. “He is… a common friend… he knows Allison.” He was probably going to burn in Hell for all his lies.

 

The older man exhaled slowly. “When did you meet?”

 

Stiles figured he could at least be honest with that. “At Kates’s funeral.”

 

“You made a friend at a funeral?” John asked in confusion. Then he shook his head. “Only you, Stiles. Only you.”

 

**

 

The following evening, the Sheriff had a night shift again. Stiles had just finished his homework when he summoned Derek for movie time, which the past week had evolved to marathoning-TV-shows time.

 

They have been marathoning _Supernatural_ for the past two weeks, yet they were still at the very beginning of season 3. Stiles didn’t mind, though, he liked to re-watch the episodes, regardless knowing what is going to happen 9 seasons later.

 

Derek seemed to enjoy the show too, but most of the time he was huffing and protesting at the way the supernatural was portrayed. Especially to the episode on werewolves. Stiles kept saying that it was a show, not a documentary, but Derek still complained.

 

Before they played second episode of the third season, Stiles wished for a bag of chips.

 

“My dad asked about you.” He mentioned casually as he opened the bag.

 

Derek stilled. “What do you mean?”

 

Stiles offered him the bag. “He was asking about the new friend I keep bringing over.”

 

“What did you tell him?”

 

Stiles shrugged casually. “I said your name was Derek and that you are a couple of years older than me. I told him you are Argent’s family-friend.”

 

Derek growled then, a sound so low and animalistic that startled Stiles. “You told him I was Kate’s _friend_?”

 

Stiles shifted in concern. “What was I supposed to say?”

 

“Anything else!” Derek said angrily. “I was never anything else than a possession to the Argents.” He spat.

 

Having spent almost three months with Derek on an almost daily basis, Stiles considered him a friend, or at least someone he can trust. He had learnt so much about him, about what he likes, what he used to do before he was a genie, but Derek never really mentioned anything from his life with his previous masters. Stiles could only assume he wasn’t the least happy with them, but Derek always dodged his questions. It irked Stiles. The fact that he knew nothing about the biggest part of Derek’s life. So he took this chance to ask again. “What did she do?”

 

He could already see Derek closing off so he rushed to wrap an arm around Derek’s shoulders. It was a thing they did now, casually touching each other like that, so instead of pulling away, Derek relaxed a little.

 

“It wasn’t good Stiles. The things they made me do…” Derek whispered.

 

Stiles took in the silence. “Have I told you that I had a therapist a few years ago? After my mum passed away, my dad got us both appointments with one for emotional support.” He started softly. “She was nice, but if there is one thing I remember most vividly about the sessions with her, was the fact that she made me talk. It might seem improbable, but after mum… I closed off and I wouldn’t talk to anyone about how I felt, I only talked to dad and Scott for a while. At one point she had enough, I would just stare at her while she talked, and she said something then. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but next thing I remember, I was talking. The words were literally flowing out of my mouth, I talked and talked and cried and then… then I just stopped when I had nothing else to say. She just smiled at me and said that the best way to feel better, it is to let it out.” He narrated. ‘Let it out, Derek.”

 

Derek was silent for a few seconds. “It started when I got home late one day.” He began. “There was a hunter and a witch there. They had burned my house down, probably having not expected me to appear, but I did. We made a deal, my family is spared and I do what they want. I agreed, of course. But I didn’t know what that deal meant. They were _hunters_. At first, they used my magic for equipment and stuff like that, but then my master died and I got passed to his oldest son. He was creative. He made me start fires, he made me kill people. When his dad asked for weapons, Gerard made _me_ the weapon.” A tear escaped his eye and he paused to wipe it away.

 

“Gerard had two kids, Chris and Kate. Chris was always arguing with his father. He was strict about the hunter code, he believed that he shouldn’t kill unless a werewolf was rabid. Kate, though… she was exactly like her father. Gerard always favoured her. I was her birthday present when she turned 25. And she was… she was worse than my previous masters. She saw me as a weapon and a possession. I always tried to protest when they made me do bad things, but she- she would punish me. She thought I was hers to play with. Sometimes she made me stay outside of my lamp, but didn’t let me sleep or eat. Sometimes she made me sit still as she purred at me and touched me.” At Stiles’s horrified look he explained. “She never did anything other than touch my chest or stomach a little, she said she wouldn’t fuck an animal, but she said she liked that I hated it every time she was close to me.” The last part was almost inaudible and Stiles stared at him in shock.

 

Then Derek let a small sob and Stiles snapped back. He wrapped his hands tighter around Derek’s body in a way that Derek was enveloped in Stiles’s body. Stiles hooked his chin upon Derek’s head and let soothing sounds. “It’s okay, she is dead now.”

 

Derek shook and cried while Stiles whispered soft words to him for the rest of the night.

 

At one point, Stiles placed his laptop on the nightstand and moved Derek just so they were lying on the bed instead of being sat up. Stiles was eternally glad the following day was Saturday and he didn’t have school, because they stayed up until very late.

 

**

 

After the day Derek confessed about his master’s actions, they got significantly closer.

 

Stiles wouldn’t call Derek _clingy,_ not really, but he was much more open to touch Stiles, even just to brush their shoulders as he walked next to him. Stiles didn’t mind, he actually liked it, since he was rather tactile too. So it wasn’t weird that they were cuddling on the bed or the couch more often than not.

 

Stiles didn’t even consider it, it was pretty much like that with Scott too, so it didn’t register as weird.

 

It did register as weird to the Sheriff, though. It was Sunday morning when he got home, the one day Stiles and Derek slept until noon. Stiles was minding his own business being cuddled, when the door of his room opened and his dad stepped inside while talking. “Hey, Stiles, can you maybe-“ he started but stopped when he took in the sight of his son being the little spoon to a shirtless man that looked definitely older than _a couple of years older_ than Stiles.

 

Stiles got high alert when he realised the situation. “Uh… I know it is going to sound cliché, but it is really, definitely not what you think.”

 

“I am thinking that I want you both downstairs in 10 minutes.” John said sternly and left the room.

 

“Fuck!” Stiles exclaimed and stood up. He saw Derek looking unsure and he motioned for him to stand up. “Come on, put a shirt on or something, I am going to the bathroom, you… do your thing.”

 

Needless to say, they were downstairs in the kitchen in eight minutes. The Sheriff looked up from his cup of coffee and gestured to the two chairs in front of him. They sat silently as John regarded them suspiciously.

 

“I have to say, Stiles, when I said friend, I didn’t mean _friend_ , as in boyfriend.” The sheriff said.

 

Stiles’s eyes widened. “That’s not- we are not together, he is not my boyfriend!”

 

“I know the whole… ‘ _friends with benefits_ ’ must be nice for young people, but really, Stiles? You do realise you are not even 18 yet, right?”

 

Both Stiles and Derek blushed on the comment. “Oh my god, Dad! We don’t have sex!” he exclaimed. “We really are just friends.”

 

The Sheriff frowned. “I’m sorry if I am getting this wrong, but I am not sure I have seen many _just friends_ cuddle in your bed shirtless.”

 

Stiles gaped. “I cuddle with Scott all the time!”

 

John raised an eyebrow. “You hug his side because you like hugging stuff when you sleep Stiles, and you both always wear at least a shirt!”

 

“Platonic relationships are a thing, Dad.”

 

“You are trying to tell me you don’t _like_ him?”

 

Stiles blushed even harder at that. “This is not- this is not the point Dad, oh my God!” he said and stole a glance to Derek to see him staring with wide eyes at his dad.

 

John smirked slightly in amusement before he took a sip from his coffee. “Okay.” He agreed and outstretched his hand. “Hello, I am John Stilinski.” He said offering his hand to Derek who took it and shook it fearfully.

 

“Nice to meet you, sir, I am Derek Hale.” He replied.

 

“Derek Hale?” The sheriff said with a frown. “Where are you from, Derek?”

 

Derek shifted uneasily. “Around here, my family lives a little out of town, I guess?”

 

“That is weird, I saw Derek Hale today. The Hales are very close to each other, and they had always been living here. Don’t know if you just happen to have the same name with them, it is a quite common last name, but I have never seen another Hale that isn’t related to them in some way.” John said with what Stiles registered as his cop face.

 

He saw Derek being at a loss, so he cut in. “Derek is their cousin, right Derek?” he jumped in and kicked him lightly under the table.

 

“Yeah. I was out of town for a long time, you probably don’t remember seeing me.” Derek added.

 

The Sheriff hummed. “Strange. How old are you, Derek?”

 

Derek seemed to be panicking a little. “I am twenty-two.”

 

John shot him a suspicious look. “You don’t really look 22.”

 

“It’s the beard, dad, it is out of control. Once he shaves, he looks much younger.” Stiles interfered.

 

“Of course.” John agreed and drank the rest of his coffee.

 

After the silence got too much, Stiles spoke up. “Can we go back to my room now?”

 

The Sheriff looked amused as he said “Sure”.

 

**

 

“Is your name really Derek Hale?” Stiles asked as soon as he closed the door.

 

“Yes, why?” Derek asked.

 

And it clicked then. “Holy shit! I should have figured it out sooner! You even look like them, and you said you saved them, it makes so much sense!”

 

Derek looked genially confused. “What are you talking about?”

 

“The Hales! They basically built this town, Kevin Hale is the mayor, and so was his father and his grandmother or something. You know what all Hales have in common? They are all beautiful and have green eyes and dark hair! Well… mostly. But you get the point.”

 

“What are you saying?” Derek asked cautiously.

 

“Derek, are you from Beacon Hills?” Derek nodded and Stiles went on. “This is Beacon Hills, Derek, this is where you grew up.”

 

Derek froze. “What? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

 

Stiles gave him an unimpressed look. “Why didn’t you even bothered to ask where you were?”

 

“Because my masters used to be hunters, Stiles, they travelled all the time.” Derek snapped back.

 

“It doesn’t matter!” Stiles exclaimed. “Don’t you get it? You family could be alive!”

 

Derek’s face cleared of emotions as he stared over Stiles’s shoulder. “My family could be alive.” He whispered. His eyes focused on Stiles then and he smiled. “My family could be alive!”

 

“We established that,” Stiles said with an answering smile and sat on his bed. “We could go see them, if you want.”

 

Derek sat on the bed too. “I could see them again.” He said softly, but then his face hardened. “I can’t go, they think I am dead.”

 

Stiles noticed him withdrawing. “All the more reason to go, you can show them you are alive!”

 

“I can’t just go, Stiles!”

 

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Of course you can! I can come with you, if it makes you feel better. We don’t even need to talk to them, we could just go by your old home and see if there is anyone there?”

 

Derek nodded. “Right.”

 

Stiles patted his forearm gently. “You want to go now? We don’t have to, of course, but don’t you think you have spent enough time apart?”

 

“Yeah.” Derek agreed.

 

Stiles stood up excitedly. “Great, I am going to get dressed. Where was your house?”

 

“The preserve.”

 

**

 

They were walking in the woods to the path to the Hale mansion, where Stiles had only been once at a Halloween. They didn’t take a car because Derek said it would give them away due to it being very loud. Stiles didn’t disagree. He wanted to let Derek do this however he wanted.

 

Just before the house got into their view, Derek tensed with nervous energy and almost stopped walking, until Stiles took his hand gently and tugged him forward. There was an old lady on the porch and 3 kids were sat on the floor looking at her in awe as she narrated a story.

 

Stiles could see the moment she realised they were there, as her body tensed a little and she tilted her head to their direction, before turning her eyes on them.

 

“Can I help you?” she asked and stood up, so that she had the children behind her.

Derek’s nostrils flared as the wind blew to their direction, obviously taking in her scent. His eyes widened and his body tensed up even more. “Cora?” he croaked out lowly enough that she shouldn’t have heard it if she weren’t –as Stiles assumed- a werewolf.

 

She looked puzzled at them. “Do I know you?”

 

Derek walked forward slowly, with his eyes transfixed at her. “Cora, it’s me.”

 

She scented the air stubbly in confusion. Then she looked shocked. “It can’t be.” She said and rushed to them. Stiles half stepped back as the surprisingly fast elder headed straight to them and hugged Derek. “Oh my God, Derek!” she exclaimed and buried her nose in his neck inhaling his scent. She drew back shortly after. “How are you here? How are you alive? You were dead, you can’t be here.” She said tearing up.

 

Derek looked equally emotional with their meeting. “I missed you so much.” Was all he said in response and then initiated a hug of his own.

 

Cora didn’t pull back this time, she simply held on.

 

“Who… who is here? Is Laura alive? What about Nathan and Jason and Mark? Uncle Peter? Aunt Mary?” Derek rushed without letting go. “Mum, dad?” he whispered the last part.

 

“Hey, slow down you.” She said softly and Derek let her go. “Laura is napping inside, Nathan, Jason and Mark are probably at work. Even Peter is alive! But… I am sorry, mum, dad and Aunt Mary have passed away.” She said while turning her fingers through his hair in a motherly gesture.

 

Derek nodded looking down. “It’s okay, I have the rest of you.” Cora smiled and kissed his forehead.

 

Stiles was ready to back off and give them some space when Cora looked at him. “Who is that?”

 

Stiles shifted awkwardly. “I am Stiles.”

 

“Oh, right you are the Sheriff’s kid, I remember you!” she said. “Well, come inside, time to meet the family.”

 

Cora turned back and helped the smallest kids inside. As they entered, Derek looked around in awe as Cora went straight to the living room where yet another elder was sleeping. Cora almost jumped at her, but the lady opened her red eyes before she could.

 

“You will never sneak on me!” She said with a smug smirk.

 

Cora didn’t seem let down, she simply rolled her eyes and gestured at the pair in the door. “Laura, look who I found!”

 

Both the elders looked surprisingly agile for their age as the turned around to inspect them.

 

Laura, Stiles assumed it was her name, took a stubble sniff of the air and blinked in confusion.

 

“It’s Derek, Laura.” Cora said.

 

Laura gasped and in a flash, she was crushing Derek in a hug. “Dear God, Derek, I missed you.” She said and scented his neck.

 

Derek hugged her back and buried his nose in her hair with a sigh.

 

When they pull apart, Laura ruffled Stiles’s hair. “And who you might be?”

 

“He is Stiles, the sheriff’s son.” Cora jumped in.

 

Laura pinched his cheek a little. “Of course! Aren’t you a cutie? Where did you find my brother?”

 

Stiles hesitated. “It’s a long story.”

 

Laura straightened. “I see. How about I gather everyone, so you can tell us all at once?”

 

Derek nodded slowly.

 

Cora excused herself to bring food, and Laura called several people. She told them to sit on the couch and she sat to Derek’s left. She gently touched the cuffs that had been exposed in Derek’s wrists in concern.

 

“These are not infused with wolfsbane.” She stated.

 

Derek fidgeted a little with them himself. “No, they are not.”

 

“But they are binding you.” Laura realised.

 

Derek nodded wordlessly, just as a bunch of people rushed in the room.

 

They seemed slightly panicked, which probably meant that they didn’t know what to expect from the sudden meeting. Laura flashed her eyes to silence them, but the room kept getting fuller. It was tense as people looked at them.

 

The tension skyrocketed when the oldest man Stiles had seen, entered the room. Immediately he caught Derek’s scent and rushed to them as fast as his body would allow. The man hugged Derek tightly. “I missed you little bear.” Stiles heard him say, and just like that, everyone loosened up.

 

“I missed you too, Uncle.” Derek replied and that was when three of the men gasped.

 

“Derek?” they asked in confusion.

 

It was no surprise that Stiles found himself almost suffocating by the amount of excited werewolves that joined the hug.

 

**

 

When the excitement died down a little, the mature wolves settled down on the rest of the furniture around the large living room, while the children sat on the floor. The coffee table seemed to be full of food that Stiles didn’t see anyone delivering. Everyone introduced themselves -Stiles barely caught 5 names before he messed them all up again- and Derek looked emotional when Cora introduced her oldest son whose name was also Derek. Then, everybody was looking at him and Derek expectantly.

 

“So, I think I am going to go ahead and ask what everyone is thinking.” Peter decided. “Mind telling us how you survived? Or how you look this young? I would love to be as handsome as I was until very recently.”

 

“By very recently, he means a good 20 years ago.” Derek’s youngest brother –was it Mark or Jason?- sassed.

 

“Hey!” Peter said and clamped his nape. “Show respect to your elders.”

 

The man didn’t seem affected. “I am an elder, you, Uncle, you are ancient.”

 

Laura growled softly. “Enough with your bantering. Let them talk.”

 

Derek seemed uncomfortable as he started talking. “I am not sure what you remember, I am not sure how you think I died, but what really happened was that I was late. I was supposed to be back early, but I didn’t. When I got back… I saw the fire.”

 

“But… you were gone before the fire.” Nathan –yet another brother of Derek’s- protested.

 

“I know… just let me finish.” Derek said while shifting. “I saw the fire and I could hear everything and I felt the pain through the bonds and… I was panicking.” He said and then his voice quieted, as he lost himself a little to the memory. Stiles hesitantly squeezed his bicep in comfort. “I saw them. The hunters I mean. One was a witch and they made an offer. They told me they would give me the ability to save you if I did what they wanted.” Derek paused again. “I agreed. The witch cursed me, and since then I am a genie, thus these cuffs.” He added and run his fingers over his left cuff. “His first wish was to save you, but make you think I am dead.”

 

“So you have been a genie for like… 70 years?” Peter asked gently.

 

Derek nodded. “Yeah… Stiles is my fourth master.”

 

The low growl from Laura startled everyone in the room. “You are not a _slave_ , Derek.”

 

Derek let a dry chuckle. “But I am. Stiles could ask me to clean every inch of this house and I would. He could ask me to burn the whole town _and I would._ ” He sneered.

 

Suddenly Stiles was the centre of the attention of a bunch of angry werewolves.

 

“Has he forced you to do anything?” One of Laura’s daughters asked threateningly.

 

Stiles was man enough to admit that he almost shit himself at her offensive stance, before Derek spoke up again. “No, not at all. Stiles has never… he is the best thing that happened to me for a very long time.” He said honestly.

 

Everyone re-settled down, as a warm feeling settled in Stiles’s chest.

 

“It doesn’t matter what happened before. You are here now and we won’t let you go again.” Laura stated with a voice of a strange mix of authority and affection.

 

**

 

Seeing that Stiles was still a high school student, the Hales shooed them so that Stiles wouldn’t stay up too late when he has school the next day –something that Stiles loudly protested to. But they didn’t let them leave until they made them promise to stop by again the next weekend for the famous Hale family time.

 

Laura scented both of them with a soft smile as they exited the house and she them that they were always welcome.

 

On the way back, Derek had a content smile plastered on his face and they walked in comfortable silence.

 

When they got home, the sheriff was already asleep, even though it was only 10 pm, and Stiles walked straight up to his room. That was when he sensed the easy silence dissipate as Derek walked passed by him to the bed.

 

Stiles realised what he was about to do, so he cleared his throat before Derek could do anything. “You don’t have to go there.” He stated.

 

Derek tore his eyes away from his lamp. “Are we going to watch a movie?”

 

“No.” Stiles said. “I mean, we could if you want, but what I mean is that you don’t have to sleep in the lamp.”

 

Derek frowned. “And where can I sleep?”

 

Stiles made an aborted motion. “To my bed? Like every other night?”

 

“Why would you let me sleep there if we didn’t watch a movie?”

 

Stiles stared at him in confusion. “Why would I let you sleep in my bed only when we watch movies? Is it a movie privilege?”

 

Derek fidgeted a little. “I wasn’t sure whether I was allowed.”

 

Stiles rolled his eyes and sat on the bed. “Of course you are, I wouldn’t let you spend time in your lamp when I know you find it unpleasant.”

 

Derek sat beside him. “It’s not exactly unpleasant… it is meant to house me.”

 

“But you hate that you lose track of time, that you don’t remember what is happening inside, when you sleep, when you eat. Plus it feels like I am using you if I let you spend your time there and call you when I am bored or need something.” Stiles reasoned.

 

Derek didn’t say anything to that, he simply nodded.

 

Stiles looked at him for a few seconds. “It was a surprisingly tiring day. How about we change, have a shower or something and then go to sleep?”

 

“Yeah,” Derek said absently. Then he looked at Stiles with a smirk. “Going to shower first.” He declared. Before Stiles could even protest he was already clicking his fingers and disappearing.

 

Stiles stood up and run to the door and knocked at it angrily. “You asshole! You knew I wanted to go first!” he whisper-shouted, minding his sleeping father.

 

The only reply was the echo of Derek’s laugh over the sound of the tap opening.

 

**

 

Turns out, a tiring wasn’t enough to make Stiles sleepy that day. They had long settled on the bed, but he was still twisting and turning trying to finally sleep.

 

Apparently, as much as it annoyed him, it annoyed Derek too. “If I knew you would be so difficult, I would have gone to my lamp.” He murmured with a sigh.

 

“Strangely enough I am not sleepy at all.” Stiles grumbled back.

 

“You can always wish to sleep.” Derek said from his pillow.

 

Stiles groaned and stared at the ceiling. Derek seemed okay with taking half of his bed with his hands under Stiles’s fluffy pillow as he lied on his stomach. Stiles envied him.

 

He turned to his side and stared at him, considering what he had found about him in a single day.

 

“What?” Derek asked in irritation as he freed his face and looked back at Stiles with a scowl.

 

Stiles shrugged. “Nothing…”

 

Derek growled in annoyance and used his hand to push Stiles a little, half-heartedly trying to knock him off the bed.

 

“Fine, stop!” Stiles relented as he held on. “I was thinking about your family, okay?”

 

“What about them?”

 

“They were great. They looked like you. A lot. And you were happy to see them. Hell, I think that was the happiest I have ever seen you.” Stiles whispered seriously. “You know you can go whenever, right? I am not going to stop you. You could be with them all day, if you want. If I really need you, you will know anyway.”

 

“Yeah, I know.” Derek replied softly.

 

Stiles bit his lip. “Then why did you come back with me?”

 

Derek turned on his back then, breaking eye contact. “I was afraid.” He stated.

 

Stiles sit up a little. “Afraid of what?” when Derek didn’t reply for longer than acceptable Stiles repeated the question. “Hey, afraid of what, Derek?” he said as he gently pressed his hand on Derek’s shoulder.

 

Derek’s eyes returned to Stiles’s face and Stiles could see the wetness in his eyes. “I don’t want to lose them again.” He whispered.

 

“Why would you lose them? They are _there_ , they are not going anywhere.” Stiles said gently. “Your family is alive, and expanding, apparently. That is a great thing!”

 

“I know.” Derek said so lowly Stiles could have missed it.

 

That was enough prompting for Stiles to reach out for him and hug him just so that he was laying on his back, but his head was resting on Stiles’s chest.

 

“You can let go, Derek. You can be happy.”

 

**

 

“Hey, Derek?” Stiles asked as soon as he entered his house. He quickly took off his shoes by the door and turned around to rush to his room, when he bumped right into Derek’s naked shoulder. “Jesus! We talked about this, no sneaking on Stiles!” he exclaimed as he rubbed his nose, which knocked on Derek just the wrong way to hurt.

 

Derek, the bastard, was smirking smugly. “And miss the way you startle every damn time?”

 

Stiles half-heartedly pushed on his stomach with an annoyed expression. “One day I will not jump at all, asshole, that day, I will be happy.”

 

Derek’s smirk didn’t flatter as he slapped Stiles’s hand away. “What did you want?”

 

“Oh, right!” Stiles said and started walking up the stairs. “As you know I am invited to a party tonight.” He started as he sat on his bed with a sigh.

 

“It’s not like you let me or your father forget.” Derek responded as he sat in Stiles’s desk chair.

 

“Shut up, I am trying to make a point here.”  Stiles said with an eye roll. “Lydia and I made a bet. She said I couldn’t find anyone hotter than her date to come with me, so of course, I said the opposite. If I lose, I have to follow her around for a month whenever she decides she wants to go shopping. If she loses she gets to do my homework for a month.”

 

Derek scowled. “So, you want me to magically make a hot date ask you to go with her?”

 

Stiles frowned at him in confusion. “What? No! I want _you_ to come with me.”

 

Derek looked surprised then. “Me?”

 

Stiles sat up straighter. “Yeah, you.”

 

“Why would you like to go with me?”

 

Stiles blinked at him for a few seconds in disbelief. “Is that a rhetorical question or are you actually asking?” But Derek’s face remained surprised and adorably confused. “Derek, have you looked yourself in the mirror? Ever?” Derek’s expression was still the same. “Do I need to spell it out for you? You are hot. Like burning hot, okay? You have a very nice body and a very pretty face.”

 

“Did you just describe my face as pretty?”

 

“Yes, it is pretty. It is beautiful. I don't have to call you handsome if I think you are pretty, sorry to your manhood, this is not the 50’s, you grandpa!”

 

Derek frowned. “Are you complimenting or insulting me?”

 

Stiles face palmed with a groan. “Just answer the question, will you come with me?”

 

Derek nodded slowly. “Yeah, okay.”

 

Stiles let a splitting grin and fist bumped the air in celebration. “Take that, Lydia! Who is going to win the bet now?” he yelled to no one in particular and fell back on his bed.

 

**

 

“Derek?” Stiles shouted as he fell on the mass of clothes on his bed.

 

Derek teleported –literally- in the room and Stiles groaned as he looked at him. He was already dressed for the party, in a surprisingly fashionable way -for a 70+ genie at least. He wore an olive green button up, he had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and he had let exactly two buttons undone at his chest. H had paired that outfit with skinny black jeans that showed off his legs, along with fashionable shoes. He had trimmed his stubble, which looked more like a beard the past weeks, and actually styled his hair.

 

He frowned and looked down at himself. “What’s wrong? Am I not dressed up right?”

 

“No, quite the opposite, you look great.” Stiles assured him and let his head fall back. “I just have _nothing_ to wear. _Again_. Can you grant me a wish of being dazzling beautiful and charming and fashionable? I mean cloth-wise. Or maybe in general if it is an option.”

 

He couldn’t see Derek’s face from where he was, but he did hear the click of his fingers and he felt the warmth, that he had identified as magic once, rush through him. “Thanks.” He muttered and stood up. “Do I look good? Please tell me magic didn’t backfire again.”

 

Derek had no expression on his face as he did a one-over on him. “You look good.” He decided and disappeared, probably gone downstairs to wait for him.

 

Stiles sighed and went to the bathroom to check himself out.

 

Apparently, magic had a good taste. He was granted with well-kept hair that didn’t stick from everywhere and rather fancy clothes. He had a blood red dress shirt on along with matching Vans skate shoes and black skinny jeans that would make Lydia proud. Admittedly he looked like a jock –and a fuckboy probably- but truth was, he dug the hell out of it.

 

“Dude, I have never been prouder of a wish!” he exclaimed as he walked down the stairs.

 

“Don’t call me dude.” Derek said with the same emotionless face until Stiles came up to him.

 

“Shut up, you love it.” Stiles claimed affectionally and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. “Wanna get out of here?” he said with a flirty wink.

 

Derek rolled his eyes and brushed him off, but just before they were being teleported by Derek’s magic, Stiles caught the small smile on his face.

 

**

 

Stiles was pretty sure he was drunk. Not drunk as in feeling like shit and puking everywhere, but as in the kind of drunk where life looks better.

 

Lydia had been downright _furious_ when she saw Derek. It was visible on her face as her lips created a thin line and she said: “Guess I will have to do your homework, Stilinski.”

 

Jackson’s reaction was less thrilling but equally impressive. He had straight up asked them if Derek was an escort and how could Stiles have money for stuff like that. Stiles had raised his eyebrows at the comment the same time as Derek had lowered them so much that he almost hid his eyes.

 

“Why, do you need one? Is Lydia withholding sex again?” Stiles had asked with a smirk and Jackson had fumed. “No, Derek is honest to God my date, who I did not pay for.”

 

Jackson had only sneered back without answering.

 

It was priceless.

 

A few hours later found Stiles talking to random people as he drunk his 2nd beer followed by Derek’s slightly awkward presence.

 

He was just about to have one more round of shots when Derek told him to lay down the alcohol for the 3rd time. “No, Derek!” he said and drunk it anyway.

 

It was a downhill from there. Derek being his awkward shadow turned to Derek being his worried shadow. He was followed everywhere and Derek was frantically trying to save him from doing stupid stuff, and frankly, Stiles wanted to do stupid stuff. He liked to be flirted with and to flirt back. He liked playing those ridiculous truth or dare games. But Derek didn’t seem to like it. At some point, Stiles grabbed an almost empty bottle of vodka and was ready to sip it down when the bottle was taken from his hand.

 

“No.” Derek said firmly and authoritatively.

 

“Derek!” Stiles pleaded and almost jumped on him to retrieve the bottle. “Give it back!”

 

“No, Stiles! You had enough already. How about we go home?”

 

“No!” Stiles tried again.

 

Derek withdrew from his flailing arms. “Stiles!”

 

Stiles crossed his arms angrily. “No, you can’t make me do shit, that is my job. _Give me the bottle back now or go home_!” he commanded.

 

Derek’s expression shifted to something Stiles couldn’t intercept. But before he could even really think about it, Derek looked around him, checking if anyone was paying attention, and then he was gone.

 

“Fuck!” Stiles said as he stared at the spot Derek occupied a few seconds ago.

 

Derek leaving was enough to sober him up a little and realise what an asshole he had been to talk to Derek like that.

 

He sighed and walked out. He breathed the fresh air greedily as he considered his next move. It was obvious that he was drunk and in no shape to actually enjoy the party now, not that he felt like it anyway, so he decided to go back.

 

Since everyone was drunk and he had come with Derek, he had no ride, so he decided to walk home.

 

Not one of his best decisions, it was cold and he was underdressed for the weather, but luckily, his house wasn’t that far. He was at his front door a little less than an hour later.

 

His legs ached, he was nauseous and shivering but he made it inside without slipping. He could already see the bottle of vodka empty on the counter from the door and he looked down guiltily.

 

“Derek?” he called out when he removed his shoes.

 

No answer came and no Derek appeared, so Stiles went to his room cautiously, waiting to see Derek on his bed. He was wrong, though. His room was void of Derek’s presence,

 

Stiles sighed, feeling worse than he did before, and he changed into his pyjamas. He lied on his bed and started talking, knowing that whenever the Genie was, he would listen. “I’m sorry, okay? I was a dick and you have every right to be angry at me, but I am sorry.”

 

When nothing happened, he sighed one more time and turned to his side to let sleep take him.

 

**

 

The next day Derek was still MIA, so Stiles dealt with his life –and terrible hungover- alone.

 

It was a shitty day. Stiles woke up at 3 pm and walked around like a zombie. He nursed a few cups of tea for the rest of his day, as his stomach wouldn’t settle for anything else. His dad seemed to know that he was not in the mood, so he just patted on his shoulder to show his silent support, but didn’t try to indulge him in a conversation as they spent the night on the couch watching random movies on the TV.

 

Before he went to sleep, Stiles tried again to call for Derek. “I will not force you to come back, and I am sorry I made a wish that stole away your free will yesterday, but I want to tell you that I just want you to come back so that I can apologise for real. I’m sorry, Derek, I was drunk and I know this is no excuse, but I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”

 

Once again, he was met with silence. Disappointed and feeling more of a prick, he lied on his bed, clutching his second pillow, which has served as Derek’s pillow the past weeks.

 

**

 

Stiles was not excited about his birthday. It was only a few days away and Derek was not there and Lydia was already planning his party without his consent.

 

It was a little over a week since the previous party and Stiles had formed a theory that when he ordered Derek to go home, he literally went to his own home. But if that was true, it meant that a bunch of angry werewolves were there too and Stiles wasn’t feeling up for some maiming and killing.

 

But he should go. So, if his birthday was in four days, then he was going to the Hale’s when he is down to two days away. He couldn’t be killed two before his birthday, that would be cruel.

 

In the meantime, he was ready to avoid everyone and everything. His dad had apparently noticed him ‘moping’ and asked if he had a fall out with his friends –which really hit home. Stiles had claimed it was nothing, but the Sheriff didn’t look convinced.

 

When the time came for Stiles to visit the Hale household, he was so nervous that he was fidgeting at each step. When he pulled up to the house, he was half tempted to turn back around and leave, but he knew that this was important.

 

The door opened before he could knock and there stood Laura with a toddler attached to her hip. “About time.” She said sternly. “You are going to fix whatever you did, am I clear?” she asked flashing her blood red eyes.

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Stiles agreed nervously under her hard stare.

 

She glared a few seconds more before she smiled. “Good.” She shifted the kid in her hands. “He is upstairs, third door on the right. Do you want anything to eat, honey?”

 

Stiles was cautious with his reply. “No thank you, I… am going to talk to him now.”

 

“Of course.” Laura agreed and moved to the side to let him in.

 

He found the room Laura directed him to rather quickly.           He was unsure whether he should knock or just go in, so he did a little bit of both. He knocked once and before he let the occupant of the room answer, he was already rolling the handle.

 

The room looked impersonal. It was minimalistic and mostly white, but beautifully decorated, so Stiles had to assume that it worked as a guest room. Derek was sitting on the king sized bed with a book on his lap and a brooding expression.

 

He looked up when Stiles walked inside, but then went back to reading his book like he had no care in the world. “Hey.” Stiles said softly and walked closer to him and sat on the foot of the bed. “How are you doing?” Derek elected to not reply so Stiles went on. “Have you been here the whole time?”

 

“No, I was at your house first.” was the first thing Derek said to him.

 

“Why did you leave, then?”

 

Derek went back to being silent then so Stiles sighed.

 

“I don’t know if you heard me the previous times, but I wanted to say that I am sorry. I should have ordered you like that, it was shitty. And I shouldn’t have said that I am the one who tells you what to do. And I am sorry for the way I acted the whole night, with the stupid shit I did. I know you were only trying to help me.” Stiles apologised honestly.

 

Derek put his book down and looked at him seriously. “You know I told you about how my masters treated me. It was not all. Gerard was more vicious than his father, so when I was handed to Kate I was warry. She said I had nothing to fear with her, that she would take care of me. She lied to make me trust her and then crushed that trust, over and over.”

 

Stiles frowned. “You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, right? At least not intentionally.”

 

Derek looked away for a second before he refocused on Stiles’s face. “Thing is, she said the exact same thing.”

 

“Yeah, but you know I am not a manipulative _bitch_. I don’t intent on hurting anyone, I would probably hurt myself in the process of trying to anything.”

 

Derek looked away without any sign of considering about answering.

 

“I am really sorry, I made you remember her. I just want us to go back to what we were. I missed you.” Derek still wouldn’t look at him, even though he clenched his jaw. “I will not make you come home, but I would like it if you did.” Stiles said carefully. “Tomorrow is my birthday. Lydia is already forcing me to attend my own party, for which I am not excited about, but I wanted to tell you that you are invited.”

 

Still, Derek remained silent.

 

“I am going to head home now. You can follow me if you want.” Derek didn’t even blink and Stiles stood up. “Okay.” Stiles said and left the room.

 

He found Laura waiting for him at the door holding the hand of yet another little kid. “He will come around.” She assured him as she opened the door. “Derek can be very stubborn and he tends to let emotion take the better of him. I don’t think that has changed in all these years. I would scold you too for treating him like that, but seeing you are trying, I am just advising you to give him some time.”

 

“Thank you, Mrs Hale.”

 

“Jesus, kid, just Laura is suffice. I don’t look that old, do I?”

 

Stiles looked at her uneasily. “Uh… you do look around 70.”

 

Laura smiled widely. “That is great! I am 89, which means I look 20 years younger. Quite a compliment, young man.”

 

“You are 90?” Stiles exclaimed in shock.

 

“Werewolf genes, we don’t age as fast as humans.” She said with a wink. “Now, go home. I assume you have homework.”

 

“Yeah okay. Thank you… Laura. Have a good day.” Stiles said still in shock as the woman smiled and closed the door.

 

**

 

Stiles woke up the next day with the smell of pancakes and the feeling of being watched.

 

Sure enough, he opened his eyes and saw Derek sitting on his desk chair. “Hey,” he said.

 

“Morning.” Stiles replied and sat up a little.

 

“Happy birthday, Stiles.” Derek wished almost awkwardly.

 

Stiles didn’t care, though. He beamed at him and blinked sweetly. “Thank you, Derek!” Then he spread his arms widely and wiggled his fingers. “Come on, hug the birthday boy!”

 

Tension seemed to leave Derek’s body and he rolled his eyes, but did accept Stiles’s offer for a hug. When he pulled back he sat beside him with a small smile. “What do you want for your birthday?”

 

“Is this the part when I wish away stuff?” Stiles asked excitedly.

 

“Yeah, whatever you want.”

 

“First of all, I want to not have a smelly breath as I list off my wishes.” He said and Derek simply clicked his fingers. “Great! Now, I thought about this yesterday, because of course, I thought about what I would wish when I blow my candles. Even though I am not blowing anything at the moment. Wait that came out weird.” He said and frowned. “Anyway. Firstly, I wish we didn’t struggle financially as much. I wish my dad didn’t have to work so late to pay for our expenses.”

 

Derek looked at him weirdly but clicked his fingers to grant that wish.

 

“I also wish my dad was at the peak of health. I am always making him eat healthily, but I just wish he didn’t have health problems anymore.” He paused for Derek to catch up and then went on. “Since this is my last year, I wish I got accepted to a college of my liking with a generous scholarship.”

 

“You really thought your wishes through.” Derek considered. “I would expect you to ask for a Ferrari or something.”

 

Stiles smirked. “In that tone, I wish my jeep was as good as new. I am not ready to let it go, but I wish it was upgraded to the point that it wouldn’t break down so much.” Then he paused.

 

Derek had granted his previous wishes, but now he was looking at him suspiciously. “That is all?”

 

“No. There is one more.” Stiles said and sat up straighter. “I wish you were free of the genie curse. I wish you were normal again… or as normal as a werewolf can be.”

 

Derek’s eyes widened. “What?” he asked in bewilderment.

 

They didn’t have much time to talk about it, before the cuffs on Derek’s wrists started glowing an almost blinding light. Derek looked simultaneously curious, scared and in pain as he let a pained sound.

 

The cuffs glowed so much they snapped and with them, Derek let a sob.

 

Then, as soon as the change started, it ended, leaving Derek panting and looking at his hands in shock. His eyes were wet and a few tears had escaped but there was no sadness as he looked up at Stiles. He looked awed and grateful _and happy._

 

Stiles didn’t hesitate to hug him tightly as he shook once and let more tears fall. “Thank you.” He whispered in Stiles’s neck, from where he was taking deep breaths.

 

Stiles rubbed his back as he rode out the rush of emotion.

 

At some point Stiles caught his dad peeking over the ajar door, but Stiles did a weird thing with his eyes to tell him to not interrupt, and he seemed to understand and went away.

 

When Derek pulled back, he searched Stiles’s face for something for a few seconds. When he seemed to find it, he charged forth and locked his lips with Stiles’s.

 

The kiss was a shock that didn’t last long. Stiles composed himself and kissed him back.

 

Neither seemed skilled enough for the kiss, Stiles assumed that Derek was too young to have much experience when he was cursed, and he knew he had kissed only a handful of people during truth or dare games.

 

But the kiss was nonetheless amazing. It was soft and emotional, as it was intense and somehow pleading.

 

Stiles beamed at Derek when they parted. Derek’s whole face was red and his eyes were a little bruised, but he still was the most beautiful sight Stiles had ever laid his eyes on. “I can already identify this birthday as my favourite ever.”

 

Little did he know, that on his 25th birthday Derek would propose. “Remember I said the 18th was my favourite birthday? I was wrong, the 25th could totally win that year.” He had said as they lied on the bed of their shared apartment.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://www.game-cake.tumblr.com)
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> Art for this fic can be found [here](http://game-cake.tumblr.com/post/156368531328/geniederek-for-my-fic-your-hearts-desire-im) and [here](http://game-cake.tumblr.com/post/156368604528/art-for-my-fic-your-hearts-desire-im-sorry). :)


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